When the nation is rapidly growing into the economic slaves of a few favorites of dividogenesure, there is no use to think about the freedom and political power of [SN: POSSIBLE FUTURE.] the enslaved people, because such thinking or talking will only be a general mock-flattery against the helpless by the ignorant or dishonest men who may also be slaves over the slaves. And this modern dependence of the people will certainly be to their own harm. The tens of millions of families together shall neither be able to support the public schools, colleges, churches, nor any other public institutions without the means of the wealthy few. Then it will be that the very teachers, professors, ministers and every one else in the public service will also be in bondage. Then it will be that they shall be bound to educate the people by so shaping their nervous system as to bear even greater economic slavery than any savages could tolerate. Then it will be that they shall be unable to teach any truth valuable for the well-being of the people even if they know it perfectly well.[85] And then it will be that every one shall feel his impotency and littleness in attempting to throw off the heavy yoke of the few rich families. Besides, we may see here a type of the Venetian Republic with all its inherent miseries, on a large scale; while the people shall continue to groan even as the Venetians did [SN: VENETIAN REPUBLIC.] under a few prosperous families. But the American groaning and misery may undoubtedly be even greater than theirs, because they were oppressed and labored as beasts of burden, but they were never compelled to work on a par with the modern mechanical forces. And as the misery of the American Republic will be greater, the oppression heavier, and the economic and other forms of slavery will be more degrading, it will be necessary to have a greater Napoleon Bonaparte in order to liberate the future Americans from their oligarchic plutocracy than the one who spoke to the Venetians: “I am your liberator; I am not your enemy; I am your friend; don’t be afraid,” and so on. It is, however, to be hoped that the present American fathers will not hesitate to provide something better for their children. CHAPTER V. MORTGAGOR FAMILIES. It must be borne in mind that in this chapter we have to consider only those families of the nation which were in possession of real or artificial[86] property before and after the year 1890. And we have especially to consider those of them whose properties were mortgaged; and those whose properties were to be lost in consequence of the mortgages they were encumbered with. While the propertyless or the tenant families, that were treated in the preceding chapter, will now be kept in the background of the statistics with which we have to deal.